Silverado Hospice Volunteers Experience High Level of Fulfillment

Many people, when asked to volunteer for hospice, respond, “Oh, I could never do that.” And the truth is that they may be right. Spending time with those taking their final steps of life’s journey is not for everybody. But did you know that there are opportunities for people that do not directly involve our patients?

In fact, many of our volunteers do not spend time with any of our patients, but they still find satisfaction in the work. Such is the case with one of our volunteers, “Nancy.”

As a young woman, Nancy applied to be a volunteer because she wanted to stay active during a transitional time in her personal life. She came into our office looking unsure, overwhelmed, and intimidated. Working with patients was not for her. Instead, she chose to volunteer inside our office.

It wasn’t long before our staff witnessed a change in Nancy. She became our go-to person for our clerical projects: answering phones, organizing files, handling document destruction, coordinating mail-outs, data entry - you name it, she did it. As her success inside the office grew, so did her self-confidence and interpersonal skills. Within two months, she had blossomed into a completely different person from the one who walked into our office that first day.

Since volunteering with Silverado Hospice, Nancy's transformation is unmistakable. And she did this all without ever meeting a patient.

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I can still hear my seventh grade teacher’s voice: “David, go to your place! Be still and pay attention!” She didn’t say “Be quiet!” but always “Be still!”, which implies not only a lack of noise but a lack of movement as well, a quietude of the whole person.